April 29, 2025

Mars has been dimming from our skies, but its rusty hue is still distinctive to spot. On May 5, a night with a waning gibbous moon, Mars will be in a picturesque conjunction with the open star cluster M44. Known as the Beehive Cluster, it’s one of the closest open clusters to Earth and beautiful to observe. The dazzling blue-white stars will sparkle in striking contrast to the reddish tint of Mars.

Open star clusters contain young, hot, bright stars that shine more brightly than our own sun and survive for a briefer time. Formed as a small collection of stars in the same cosmic gas cloud, the Beehive cluster coalesced when dinosaurs first roamed the earth. In few hundred million years, the stars will have fragmented their loose gravitational connection with each other to travel the cosmos solo.

In 2012, Astronomers discovered Jupiter sized planets in the Beehive Cluster. These gas giants orbiting sun-like stars were found to be super-hot due to their close quick orbits. As the first planets found in this environment of dense stars, Pr0101b and Pr0211b celebrated possibilities of a wider range of conditions to find planets.

To the unaided eye, the Beehive cluster will look like a misty smudge even in the darkest of skies. With binoculars, the brilliant collection will gleam as diamonds in the black velvet night.

Are you as fascinated by the night sky as we are?

Join us for SkyWatch: Carnegie Science Center’s monthly opportunity to catch a glimpse of the stars with professional telescopes. Get a great view of the Pittsburgh skyline as you stargaze with other space enthusiasts. Plus, watch a feature show at the Buhl Planetarium and participate in fun, astronomy-themed activities.